Mistaken Identity
by bluey3000
Summary: A surprising discovery, rumors around the precinct, and an anonymous note left on Captain Sheridan's desk leads to Romano and Hooker getting paired with new partners - but could a mild inconvenience snowball into a terrible mistake?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I kinda worked backwards and upside down on this story - came up with an ending, then a possible beginning, then a problem and solution, and then kinda strung the pieces together to make a story. Comments, criticism, and pickiness about grammar and such** **is always welcome.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters in it. I do own Jessica/Jessie Ethan and Ginger.**

Vince chuckled quietly as his brother finished his story. It was a clearly exaggerated story, but amusing nonetheless.

"The fish was five - no, six! Six feet long! We struggled for a good fifteen or so minutes to get it in the boat!" Stephen held his arms out wide to emphasize the size of the fish.

"Sure," Vince breathed into his mug of hot cocoa. His brother was notorious in their family for overexaggerating stories. Falling into a pool about three feet full became a dramatic, near-death experience in Stephen's stories, when in reality he was up and out of the pool in seconds, laughing about the whole thing. Vince shook his head and smiled as his dad laughed.

"Reminds me of an old friend of mine. A cousin, actually. His name was T.J.," Vince's dad, James, said quietly, his small grin showing the trip down memory lane was a happy one. "We had a similar struggle, but with a two or three foot fish near shore."

"T.J., eh?" Vince said, glancing up with a smile. "I've never heard you talk about him, dad. What's his last name? Maybe my partner knows him - they have the same first name."

"Hooker," responded James, causing Vince to tilt his head up in surprise. "T.J. Hooker. As I was saying, we-"

"Is he a police officer?"

James gave Vince an odd look. "Yes, he is. Anyways, we were fishing near shore one day..."

The stories, crackling fire, and the incessant metallic tapping of Vince's oldest brother stirring his cocoa faded away as Vince spaced out. _Didn't see that coming. Surely that can't be a coincidence... are Hooker and I related?_

~~2 weeks later~~

"Oh, hey, Hooker," Romano said, glancing at his partner as they pulled into the parking lot of the precinct. "I meant to tell you something my dad said when I was in South Philly for Christmas." He ran his hand over the chipped paint of the old, baby-blue car, making a mental note to bring up a new car to Hooker again.

"Yeah?" Hooker called over the top of his car as they stepped out into the darkness. They were on night watch, and the shorter days during winter had caused the sky to darken by the time they arrived.

"Well, my brother was telling a story and my dad-"

"Hooker! Romano!" A darkened figure came darting out of the building, making the two officers it had called stop. "Captain Sheridan is looking for you two!" A female voice. Dim lights behind them illuminated her face to show Jessica Ethan, an officer they had found themselves frequently working with after she had transferred to LCPD.

Romano looked at Hooker with a mischevious grin, the dim lights casting strange shadows around his face. "Did you total another black and white while I was in South Philly?" he said, unable to hide the laughter in his voice.

"Hey, watch it, Junior," Hooker answered, and then turned back to the young brunette that had run out to get them. "What does the captain want?"

"All of us - on a case of disappearing people. Come on!"

Neither Hooker or Romano had any doubt she would have grabbed their wrists and dragged them with her at a speed fast enough to break the sound barrier if the little bit of light that separated them and stumbling around like fools would have been bright enough to even see their wrists, but Jessica merely took off back into the building, and Hooker and Romano followed. At their speed, dodging other officers in order to keep up with Jessie - who, surprisingly, seemed unfazed by having to jump from side to side to avoid the other officers - they were soon standing next to two familiar faces. Stacy Sheridan and Jim Corrigan stood outside of Captain Sheridan's office, watching Jessica, Romano and Hooker come up to them, panting slightly.

"The captain wants us to handle a case of missing persons. 4 have gone missing, all at night, all coming home or going out to work at some sort of restaurant or store," Corrigan said, answering the question that hung silently in the air.

"All two to three nights apart," Stacy added, cutting off Romano before he could even form words to get out of his open mouth. He closed it again.

"Why us?" Jessica asked. "I mean, isn't Captain Sheridan always asking us to back off and let the detectives handle cases like this?"

"Not this time," Stacy answered. "He didn't say why, but he wants us to investigate."

"Is there a trend we can follow?" Hooker asked as he turned slightly.

"The people were on their way to or from work from about 9:00 to 10:30 PM. They either never made it home or never made it to work. Three of the four cars were found abandoned in parking lots or on the side of back roads, and one showed signs of a struggle - his family confirmed his car was in top condition when he left, but when his car was found on a back road, there were dents on the outside, the windshield was cracked and the rearview mirror was shattered and had fallen off. The ah, officer that found the car say it was parked near a forest after a heavy storm, though, so there's a possibility the windshield and dents could have been caused by the storm," Corrigan rattled off, barely taking a breath. He looked at Jessica, who looked back at him and then at Hooker.

"I found the car with the shattered windshield. There were several good-sized branches lying nearby, and like he said, it was after a storm that had happened between the man going missing and his car being found, so I figured the dents and windshield could have been caused by the storm breaking off branches that hit the car," Jessie explained.

"Did the broken edges of the branches look rough or flat and smooth?" Romano asked. He was staring at the floor with his arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on his face.

"A little of both," she answered. "Why?"

"Could they have been cut?"

Jessica paused. "I guess so. But, not only were branches cut to keep them from falling and hitting the power lines, if it was cut when the man disappeared to make it look like the dents and crack was from the storm..."

"It's something we can use if we need to pick apart suspects, if this happens again," Hooker said. "Do you remember where it was?"

"Yeah, that back street that turns into a dirt road on the east side of town that nobody knows the name of," Jessica answered, tilting her head. "You aren't thinking of going back there tonight, are you?"

"Why not?" Hooker asked, looking over his shoulder as he turned completely around and slowly started to walk away.

"About three street gangs like hang out back there, for one, and they're the kind of people who want to have you for dinner, and not as a guest."

"That's never stopped us before," Hooker called over his shoulder as he sped up slightly, turning the corner.

Romano ran his eyes over the other three officers. "He's right," he commented, then turned to follow his partner. "Let us get into uniform and we'll meet you out by our black and whites?"

Three different versions of agreements came, and they split up.

Minutes later, Romano and Hooker kept pace with each other as they headed towards through the building and the parking lot. The echoes of their black shoes reverberated around the deserted hallway and came back to them as a dull, eerie tapping.

"I've never seen it so quiet around here," Romano said quietly. A glance through the window told him why. Half the officers were silently drinking coffee and mulling over various documents together, and the other half were writing out reports or some other form of document, likely to be stacked on the desks of their superior officers before daylight. One thing was sure. He didn't envy his partner as far as the paperwork sorting went.

"Mm," Hooker mumbled in response. "By the way, what were you going to tell me before Jessie came and got us?"

"Oh, right," Romano said quickly, snapping his fingers. "My dad had said he had a cousin who's a police officer. Said his name was T.J., and when I asked dad what his last name was... he said his last name was Hooker."

Hooker did a double take. "You're kidding."

Romano shoved the door open, stepping to the side to let Hooker pass him. "Nope." They filed outside to regroup with the other three officers, plus Jessica's German Shepherd and K9 partner, Ginger. The door shut, causing the voices to become muffled and incoherent when heard from the inside.

"They could be related? Oh, I could use this..."


	2. Make New Friends but Keep the Old

**Author's Note: I realize that it may be a bit confusing as to how Hooker could accept the suggestion that he and Romano are quite possibly related, and I thought late that I maybe should include a little extended bit of last chapter, which was not included because I didn't see how to fit it in and keep it from looking funny. So here's the dialogue I had for when they exited the building:**

 _ **Hooker paused. "Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember knowing someone once whose last name was Romano."**_

 _ **"Was his first name James?" Romano asked.**_

 _ **"No. Vince." Hooker grinned at his younger partner. The joking tone was replaced by a thoughtful one as he continued. "Could have been. I don't remember."**_

 _ **"Hey you two," Stacy called. "We have a case to work on!" The smile traveled with her voice through the darkness, and Hooker and Romano picked up their pace towards the parking lot.**_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica/Jessie Ethan and Ginger.**

Several beams of golden light pushed back the darkness around the group of trees. Several tire tracks and four shallow ditches by the side of the dirt road, in the grass, could be seen, as well as more than a dozen branches that littered the ground.

"These were definitely cut recently," Hooker said, rising from his crouching position and sending his flashlight's beam dancing around the other fallen branches that sat here and there on the ground.

Romano flicked his own light to the trees above. "You can still see where some of them were cut," he commented. "They don't look like they were cut for any reason. Some of the cuts are less than a foot from the tip of the branch, and it's not for any telephone lines; it's all over in random places on the trees..."

"I've heard of attention to detail, but this takes the cake," Jessie said, sweeping the beam of her light around the area.

Hooker nodded slowly. "Were fingerprints found on the car?"

"Clean," Corrigan said. "They really tried to cover their tracks, that's for sure."

"Yeah," Hooker murmured, rubbing his chin. "Did any of the people who went missing have anything in common?"

"That's one of the strangest things. None of them looked similar," Stacy said. "One was a female redhead with green eyes in her early twenties. One was a male teenager with black hair and almost black eyes. This one was a male 39-year-old with brown hair and blue eyes. One looked like Jessie, but a few inches shorter - about 4 feet and 7 inches, I think her sister said - and lighter hair."

Hooker studied Stacy's expression. His hand went over his lower jaw, his forehead wrinkled, and he squinted. "Anything other than appearances? _Anything_ to go on?"

Stacy tilted her head. "I think Lieutenant O'Brien mentioned something about the families being pretty well off, and that it could be to get a ransom," she said. "None of the families have gotten calls or letters asking for money in exchange for their family member, though. At least, not that they've reported."

"Ah, there we go. We-"

Hooker was cut off as a voice, slightly interrupted by a bit of static, called from the black and whites. "4-Adam-30, Captain Sheridan wants to see you both immediately."

Hooker stared at the car, which shone in the reflected light from the flashlights.

"We can check up on the families tomorrow to see if they've gotten any calls or letters," Jessica said. "But for now, is there much else we can do but keep an eye out?"

Hooker nodded at Jessica, then turned to Romano and jerked his head towards the cars. Both were soon gone, with a cloud of dust in their wake after failing to get traction on the dry road, pale and drooping lower and lower as if sick and close to collapsing. The other three officers headed back to their own black and whites, and in Jessica's case, Ginger as well, to leave their own sickly clouds of dirt behind.

"Care to elaborate on this?" Captain Sheridan slid a note, scrawled on a yellowed, creased, and slightly torn paper, across the table. Hooker picked it up and read it out loud.

"Captain Sheridan. I heard that Officer Romano and Sergeant Hooker are related. You should look into this. You don't want personal involvement and connections like this clouding their judgement."

"That's ridiculous!" Romano said. It was clear he was trying to keep his voice at a reasonable volume. Unfortunately, he was losing the battle. "I never told anybody else - and nobody could have overheard us in the hall! It was empty!"

"Somebody must have," Hooker answered quietly.

"So you can confirm this is true?" Captain Sheridan asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

Romano started to speak, but was cut off by Hooker. "All we can confirm is what we think, and we could be." Hooker looked up. "We don't know."

Sheridan took a deep breath. "We had a similar case like this before. Two officers were found to be uncle and nephew. Their quality of work dipped down because they were so determined to keep each other safe. Two people were killed because of it. I'd rather not have that happen again." Hooker and Romano both tried to say something, but the captain cut them off. "You two are good officers. I don't want this clouding your judgement or distracting you. Romano, you once asked me what the process of changing partners would be. When Officer Canelli was tried for cowardess, I believe, and I still have the files from when I searched for partners you both could work with, and two officers stand out for both of you. They should-"

A hollow knock at the door sounded. "Come in," Captain Sheridan said, and two officers entered the room. The taller of the two had short, dark red hair, bordering on brown, and dark grayish-green eyes that seemed to taunt them. The shorter of the two officers, by about five inches, had medium brown hair, slightly longer than the taller officer, and curious blue eyes. "Sergeant Hooker, Officer Romano, meet officers Jason Marten and Michael Henderson."

The taller of the two, with two stripes on his arm showing ten years as an officer, gave Romano a strange grin, one that didn't quite settle right with the younger officer. "I'm Jason. I heard we'd be working together?"

The other, Michael, had no stripes on his arm and a sparkle in his eye as he met Hooker's gaze.

"You're new, aren't you?" Hooker inquired in a low voice, to which Henderson nodded. The bright blue eyes that stared back at the sergeant held something of a mystery. It gave him am odd feeling.

Hooker and Romano exchanged looks, and their expressions could be nicely summarized in two words. _Oh no._


	3. One is Silver

**Author's Note: T** **hanks to the person who's now following this story for making my day when I saw it! I actually finished this chapter a little early because of the motivation you gave me to finish this story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica Ethan and Ginger.**

"What'd you say their names were again?"

Romano didn't answer the blonde cop, but merely stared into his cup.

"Jason Marten and Michael Henderson," Hooker answered for his younger friend. "They should be here soon..."

"Who, us?" called a voice from across the room, and two men approached, the taller one speaking again, his voice communicating a certain tone, almost as if his prescence suddenly made the room complete. "How ya doin', kid?"

Romano bit his lip and said nothing as the shorter of the two new arrivals eagerly took the empty seat to Hooker's right and shot a smile in Jessica's direction. She rolled her eyes and leaned back. Hooker turned his gaze from one to the other and back again, resisting the urge to shake his head. The sergeant tilted his head slightly to look at Romano, who was staring daggers into the glassy reflective surface of his drink, rippled only by his breath. He had noted it as odd that the younger officer had merely gotten water, but brushed it aside. Tilting his head a little more, he realized Marten was hovering over Romano, trying to talk to him. The latter was trying to ignore him, but the former was being persistent.

"Ah, come on, don't you think-" Marten began, and Romano lifted his head to interrupt.

"Aren't you going to get something to drink?" Romano asked, but it wasn't really a question.

"Right," Marten finally said after a pause, tilting his head and squinting at the young officer. He shot Hooker a peculiar, almost suspicious look when he realized the sergeant was watching him, then walked away. Henderson suddenly stood up, muttered something about going to get a drink for himself as well, and scurried after Marten. When the two left, there was a pause.

Jessica leaned towards Hooker and Romano. "Would...?" She began, but stopped with her mouth ever so slightly open, as if trying to decide whether to continue or not.

"Would what?" Hooker questioned. He gave a slight grin. Her expression told him everything.

She paused. "Nothing."

"What were you going to ask?" Romano muttered. All hints of genuine curiosity and happiness at the time off with his friends had vanished from his voice.

Jessica squinted slightly at them, then spoke in a cautious tone. "Would you be offended if I told you that from what I've seen, your new partners are kind of jerks?"

Hooker's smile widened slightly in amusement until Romano answered her.

"Your dog hated us from the start," Romano snapped in a low voice. "Why are you talking about our partners?

This subdued Jessica. She stared at the edge of the table for a moment, then excused herself, grabbing the metal water bottle she was rarely seen without and speed walking towards the other end of the room near the pool table, ducking behind a number of other patrons and going out of sight.

"What's eating you?" Corrigan asked, speaking for the first time since they got there. The tense silence that plagued the table and hung over them like a thick curtain of fog on a dark morning kept him quiet. It must have had an effect on Romano as well, for no answer came immediately.

Hooker set his cup down with a low tap. "Junior?"

That elicited a harsh but quiet response. "Nothing."

"Then why'd you just scare Jess into hiding out all the way across the room?" Corrigan suddenly shot back. "You know good and well Ginger's behavior was from the precinct and city they came from and Jessica couldn't help the fact Ginger saw us as a threat."

Romano glanced up, giving them such an odd look that they thought his temper might snap. Instead, though, he sighed and leaned back. "Fine," he said quietly. "In truth, she was right. Marten... he's... he's been treating me like I'm an incompetent little kid who needs to be supervised at all times." Bitterness was obvious in his voice.

"First day working with a new partner, maybe that's making him a little cautious?" Stacy suggested.

"It... it seems more than just that." Romano muttered, as if talking to himself more than anyone else.

Two clanks on the table made the four look up as Marten and Henderson sat down. It was then that Romano took a silent deep breath and stood up.

"I'm going to go talk to Jess," he declared.

"I'll come too!"

"No, you won't."

Henderson blinked and looked at Hooker as if he didn't understand. "What?"

"I said no, you won't," Hooker answered. He tilted his head towards Stacy and shot her a "little help, please?" look.

"Uhm..." Stacy searched through her mental files to find something to say. "So... uh, Henderson, how's it been going, riding with a new partner and all?"

Romano ducked, whispered a thanks to Hooker, amd darted off, weaving through the crowd that had gathered to laugh hysterically over something around the pool table. A quick look and he shook his head. Someone had somehow gotten their hand stuck in a corner pocket. He found Jessica in the corner, staring at them with a disapproving look. He didn't think she noticed him, but then she spoke.

"I hope they have someone picking them up."

"That bad, eh?"

"The white ball fell into that corner hole. He reached in to try and catch it and got it, but now he can't figure out how to get his hand out. The others are laughing like they think it's the funniest thing in the world."

Romano tilted his head at her. "You don't know much about pool, do you?"

"I know there's a stick, a bunch of balls, and you're supposed to hit the balls to make them go into the holes," Jessica offered.

"Thought so." Romano paused. "Hey, sorry about-"

"Don't say anything. I've been watching you. I can see he's getting on your nerves. Henderson on Hooker's nerves too, but he hides it well. And I've been watching you, Hooker, Stacy and Corrigan. And Marten and Henderson. They're acting strange. It's weird. I've never seen anyone act that way. They stayed in the corner almost four minutes just talking after they got their drinks, with shifty eyes, very jumpy." The corners of her mouth turned down as she said this.

"What, acting like some sort of criminal? Wondering if they've been caught?" Romano laughed, and Jessica smiled.

"No, just... nervous."

Romano smiled. "Let's head back, eh?"

"Sure." Jessica smiled and followed her friend back to the table.


	4. One is Gold

**Author's Note: Another chapter up early, go me aha. If anyone has any suggestions for this story(I do have a general plot line laid out, but not all of it is written) I'd love to hear them - or for this chapter. I feel like something is missing and can't figure out what, if anyone can pinpoint what it may be?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica Ethan and Ginger.**

"What's the update on the families of the missing people?" Hooker adjusted the collar of his tan jacket as Jessica, with Ginger following close behind, caught up with him.

"Two of them had mysterious phone calls. One was - well, here, read for yourself." Jessica handed Hooker a sheet of paper with writing that he recognized as hers. "The other two haven't gotten any calls, notes, or anything suspicious."

Hooker slowed to a stop to the side of the hall, out of the traffic of other officers darting to and fro, to read the paper. "Heavy, rough breathing for about thirty seconds before the line went dead. The caller was repeatedly asked who they were and why they were calling, but never responded. No background noise. Other family first had no noise - speaking, breathing, background noise, or otherwise for about ten seconds before the other person hung up. Second time, someone called and whispered something into the phone. The word was repeated three times - it sounded like 'the mare' or 'beware,' and the person hung up when they were questioned on who they were. The voice didn't sound like anyone the family knew," he read out loud. He was about to comment when a squeak was heard behind them, and the two turned around.

"Here's the information you asked for, Jessica," Lieutenant O'Brien said as he took his cigar out of his mouth, holding a folded slip of paper out to Jessica. The dark shadows of writing were visible, despite the folding that looked as if it was done to hide what the paper held.

"Awesome, thanks!" Jessica's expression brightened up considerably as she accepted the paper.

"What's that?" Hooker squinted at her, but she shook her head.

"Nothing," Jessica answered, just a little too quickly.

"Okay then..." Hooker tried to fish a hint from her expression, but she kept it neutral. They maintained eye contact for several seconds, Hooker trying to pick up hints at what Jessica was hiding and Jessica trying to keep it hidden, before Hooker gave up, shook his head, broke away and walked towards the door. "See you tomorrow," he called over his shoulder, and Jessica nodded, walking in the other direction.

Hooker gave a sidelong glance to the other room as he stepped away. Jessica was leaning over the phone, her back to him so he couldn't read her lips, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. On his way to the door, he passed Romano, who was looking over his shoulder as if making sure he was not being followed.

"I'll wait for you at my car," Hooker said, leaning over towards Romano to make sure the younger officer heard him. The younger of the two looked slightly startled as he turned around, but nodded in acknowledgement when he saw the speaker.

After Hooker had walked away, Jessica wandered off to make a phone call. She unfolded the paper the lieutenant had given her and dialed the number, each button producing a noise that she could only think to describe as a sticky clicking as she pressed it. A muffled voice came over the earpiece. "Is this James Romano? This is Officer Jessica Ethan, from LCPD. I work with your son, Vince Romano. Yes, hi. Well uh, I had a question for you... it's important."

~Meanwhile, in the parking lot...~

Ten minutes after walking out of the door, Hooker was still seaching the grounds of the academy precinct and watching the door like a hawk, waiting for Romano. "Where is-"

" _Because,_ " said a familiar voice suddenly, "we live closer to each other than you and I do, and we've _always_ carpooled to and from the precinct!"

Frustration was never a tone Hooker wanted to hear in that voice. It had led to many arguments between the owner of the voice and himself. Fortunately, he thought, he had technically won one argument that counted, and his former partner no longer had that earring. Gold pin - excuse his mistake. The memory brought a smile to his lips. A different and somewhat unwelcome voice interrupted the flashback and made the smile fade.

"C'mon, kid," said the second voice, "he's not your partner anymore! Anyways, I have to go in that direction today anyways."

"And what, you'll say that tomorrow too! And the next day, and every day after that! The answer is _no!_ "

The two officers came into view. Romano looked like he was about to bite someone's head off, and Marten was trailing behind, occasionally speeding up to speak, oblivious to his younger partner's irritation. The two had just reached the curb when Romano turned around to face Marten. Hooker recognized the expression that told him Romano was going to lash out at Marten, and stepped to the front of his car to stop it.

"What's going on?"

Romano jumped and turned around, but looked relieved when he saw who it was. Marten was significantly less pleased, and narrowed his eyes at Hooker. "None of your concern," he bit out.

Romano took the moment of Marten being distracted to jump off the curb, step to the passenger side door, and grip the handle like his life depended on it. And perhaps it did, Hooker thought, but Marten's life probably depended on it more.

"If you'll excuse us, we have to go now," Hooker said tersely. Marten glared at Hooker, turned on his heel, and walked off, head tilted up as if he thought himself to be above such nonsense, which amused Hooker. The sergeant began to step back to the driver's side door when he heard another commotion from behind him.

"Leave. Me. Alone."

"You sure you don't want to go out for dinner?"

"Positive!"

Hooker and Romano turned to see Jessica trying to get into her car, a simple white car that happened to be the same model as Hooker's(although in significantly better shape). Michael Henderson was blocking her door, however, and giving her a sweet smile. Hooker shook his head and started to step up on the sidewalk, but Romano had come around the car and tapped Hooker's shoulder. A quick glance around reassured him that Marten had stormed off and would not hear.

"You handled my partner, I'll take care of this," Romano offered.

Hooker looked at Romano for a moment, studying the younger officer's now-calm expression. Despite wanting to ask Jessica about the note the lieutenant had given her and the call he had seen her making out of the corner of his eye before walking out, he nodded. "Okay."

Romano stepped past Hooker onto the sidewalk and towards Jessica's car. He stepped down to the blacktop and leaned on the top of the car opposite to the two arguing officers. "Henderson, what are you doing?" Romano spoke quickly, and his voice held a no-nonsense tone.

"I'm-" Henderson paused, mouth ajar, searching for a way to phrase what he wanted to say to keep from sounding ridiculous. "Just talking to Jessica."

"As you keep her from getting to her car and continually pester her for a date," Romano concluded. "Don't you have better things to do?"

Henderson paused, searching for an answer. When none came, he dropped his head and stalked off. Jessica looked at Romano as if he was her knight in shining armor.

" _Thank_ you," she breathed, and Romano nodded and smiled.

"See you tomorrow," he called to Jessica as she got into her car, and she smiled, calling the same back to him.

Romano returned to Hooker's blue car, opening the door and ducking to sit down in the passenger seat. Hooker glanced over at him. There was a brief pause, and both of them started talking at once.

"Thanks for handling-" they said in unison. "Marten," Romano finished, and Hooker ended his sentence as "Henderson." Another brief pause rang in the air and they both started chuckling.

"Ready to go?" Hooker asked, an amused smile plastered on his face.

"Yeah," Romano said, the smile back in his voice.

The car rumbled to life as Hooker turned the key.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I set a 1,000 word minimum for myself on my chapters but wasn't able to meet it on this chapter. So to make up for it, this is the first chapter of two going to be posted at the same time.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica and Ginger.**

Ice blue eyes jumped over desks and chairs, probed between files stacked haphazardly, and visually interrogated a number of officers, most of which held cups of coffee. Coffee that could occasionally warrant a hazmat suit for cleanup if spilled, the owner of the blue eyes mused with a smile. She finally found the blonde officer she was looking for, leaning towards the floor next to the desk she sat behind.

"Hey Stacy, do you know where the captain is? I can't find him."

Stacy looked up. "Dad- I mean, the captain can't come in today. Started throwing up this morning, I think he said over the phone. Thought it best not to come," she answered, straightening up with a black and silver pen in hand.

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

Jessica stepped back from the desk and darted out of the room, dodging several other officers, trying to pick out two. One was less favorable to find, but seeing him first almost made her consider turning back. Fortunately, as she wove through the somewhat-crowded hall, she found the younger of the two officers accompanied by the older. They were talking in hushed tones, their eyes shifted nervously, and they somehow kept stepping farther back into the corner of the hallway, despite their backs being against the walls already. Jessica squinted slightly and tilted her head as she approached.

"Marten, Henderson?" she called, and the two in question looked startled when they turned to face her. There was something in their eyes that she recognized but couldn't place.

"What do you want?" Marten asked, and Jessica tried to reassure herself that there was no ill will behind the words, that they merely came out in a harsh manner.

Jessica drew a silent breath. "I wanted to know if either of you knew where Hooker or Romano are. I need to talk to them."

"No." The snappish response that came just a little too quickly was accompanied with narrowed eyes that shattered any lingering ideas that Marten was not in a bad mood. Moreover, the energy-filled eyes of Henderson would not meet Jessica's, as if he was afraid she might stare straight into his soul and uncover his deepest, darkest secret.

"Okay then..." Jessica spoke slowly, eyeing them for a minute. When Marten gave her a look as if asking her why she was still in existence, she quickly turned and walked away with a shake of her head. She glanced at her silver watch. "I should probably find Ginger and hit the streets anyways," she murmured.

Ginger, who Jessica found outside sniffing around on the sidewalk outside, initially resisted her owner trying to coax her to the black and white vehicle, and it was immediately apparent she, for the first time since the young daughter of Jessica's neighbor ran away and hid in the park and the shepherd's help was enlisted to find her, had an agenda, a goal to meet, and she was determined to do it one way or another.

"Nothing is going to go quite right today, is it?" Jessica wasn't talking to anyone in particular, but Ginger looked back at her for a fleeting moment with an expression that seemed to say, "Not at all."

And then that moment was gone, and Ginger temporarily gave up her hunt, loped over to the car, and when the door was opened for her, jumped in and sat down, looking as if any memory of her quest was now erased from her mind. That, Jessica decided, was one of the most puzzling things about her companion, that she could switch what she was doing so easily like that, but she could, and had done it many times before, so Jessica brushed it off and got in the car herself, closing the door and turning the key.

~~~The Night Before~~~

"Yeah, yeah." Romano's voice echoed off the walls, only to be dulled by the carpet as he and Hooker turned the corner to a different hallway of the apartment building. The clock at the end of the hall continued its monotonous clicking as they walked, past 9:00. But the clock hadn't been changed or adjusted in quite some time, and it was impossible to guess the real time by that clock alone.

"Ehhh... we'll figure out how to deal with them," Hooker said as they continued towards the elevator. He stepped over and gave Romano a playful shove with his shoulder. "Don't let Marten get to you."

Romano stepped back away from the wall of the hallway with a smile and a shake of his head. "I'll try to remember that," he said in an almost sarcastic tone as if annoyed, but the expression he wore told a different story. He poked at the button for the elevator as they reached the end of the hallway, and the circle gave a soft glow. An echoey ding sounded within seconds to tell them the elevator was on their current floor, the ground floor, waiting for them, and the doors glided open with a faint hum. "What did you say the title was again?" Romano asked as they stepped into the elevator.

Hooker paused for a moment, trying to remember as they turned around. He was about to respond, but something dark in the corner of the elevator caught the attention of both of the officers. When they turned to get a better look, an arm cloaked in darkness reached towards them, and darkness closed in on their vision.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica Ethan and Ginger.**

There was no difference between eyes open and eyes closed, and he couldn't tell if it was because it was dark wherever he was or if it was because the hit he took to the head had messed with his eyesight. He carefully evaluated his situation, determined that no, he had not suffered any broken bones, and his poor vision must have been due to overall darkness, because a brief flicker of red light illuminated where he was.

Where he was... where was that, anyways? He tried sitting up, but a dull, consistent pounding in the back of his head quickly shot down that idea, and he leaned back once more. He rolled over onto his side and felt the rough fabric beneath him. Blinking a few times brought a faint outline of a face a foot or two away into focus - or at least, as focused as it could get in a nearly pitch black who-knew-where. The red light came to life once more and lit up the face he had seen almost daily for well over a year.

 _Hooker... that's right... we went into the elevator and someone was hiding there and knocked us out. And that light must mean - oh..._

The realization made him flinch as he realized where he was - the confinement of the trunk of a car, rumbling along a road that could be miles upon miles away from his apartment, the precinct, and the city he had come to accept as his home.

Common sense and knowledge gained over the years of his life made him sit up, ignoring the pain in his head - until he sat up too much and hit his head on the top of the small enclosure, which left him reeling for a moment - and move towards the tail lights. He shook his head a few times and blinked, staring at the red lights that would occasionally light up. He turned and rammed his heel into the right light three times until it gave way and bounced out, leaving behind a web of frayed wires as it skidded along the road until finally settling a few inches away from the edge of the road.

Said road was little more than a rough patch of pale dust with rocks here and there. Bushes grew over the dry dirt in an unruly manner, the sun glared down as if giving a look of disapproval to a misbehaving child, and the whole location looked as if the place had not been visited by people or rain in years.

As that thought occured to Romano, it dashed any hopes of help from passersby, but at least kicking out the light made it a little easier to breathe and see. The young officer sighed and shoved himself back to the corner he woke up in, glancing back over to the sergeant on the other side of the trunk. His eyes were closed and it looked as if he were asleep. More likely, Romano decided, he was still unconscious.

Finally, Romano decided the only thing to do was enjoy the ride. He didn't know how to open the trunk from the inside, there was nobody to signal for help, nobody to bounce ideas off of or simply to talk to, he didn't even know how long he had been out for - not that knowing would do him much good anyways - and there wasn't much else to do. He sighed again and closed his eyes.

~~~Back in LA~~~

"Where are those guys?"

"Maybe we should check Bassett's."

Stacy rolled her eyes at her partner as someone in a blue uniform walked to the driver's side window with a dog by their side and leaned down.

"Nothing?" Jessica asked, but it was more out of a routine she had begun that day when she had met up with a number of people she had enlisted to keep an eye out for Hooker and Romano. She knew the answer.

"Nothing," Corrigan confirmed, shifting to look over his shoulder and through the back window. "Not at roll call, nobody saw them around the academy grounds, Lieutenant O'Brien hasn't heard anything from them. Marten and Henderson haven't heard anything either..." Corrigan turned back to face her. "That's their story, anyways."

Jessica sighed and straightened up, leaned against the top of the black and white, and looked around at the coffee shop employees and patrons milling about. "I called Fran a few minutes ago and she said she hadn't heard anything from Hooker. Nobody answered at Romano's apartment or Hooker's house either. Their partners are acting weird. I talked to them this morning, and Marten looked like he was a hungry lion looking at a lame zebra. Henderson wouldn't even look at me." Jessica shook her head. "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit."

"Seems odd alright," Corrigan said quietly as he took a sip of the drink from the white takeout cup. "Maybe they'll turn up tomorrow."

"Turning over a new leaf, or is this opposite day?" Stacy asked with a sly grin, attempting to lighten the mood a bit. "Jessica immediately starts thinking the worst about a strange situation and you, Jim, are quick to be the glass-half-full person."

Ginger gave a half-whimper, half-groan, as if expressing annoyance, and Jessica covered her mouth to hide her smile and the fact she was attempting to cover a giggle. When she brought her hand down again, she stepped back from the vehicle and looked in the window again.

"My break's about over, so I'm gonna head out again. I'll keep a lookout for anything about the people who went missing or Hooker and Romano and let you know if I find anything," she said.

Corrigan and Stacy nodded in unison. "We'll do the same," Corrigan called, and Jessica smiled as she walked back to the police car she drove with Ginger at her heels.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own T.J. Hooker or the characters, just Jessica and Ginger.**

"Somebody get the license plate of that truck?"

"Knocked out for at least a couple hours, you wake up cramped in the corner of the trunk of a car, and you still wake up and crack a joke immediately. Unbelievable," Romano said as he shook his head.

Hooker rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow, blinking groggily and trying to adjust to the dim, flickering light. He might have answered with a snappy comeback, but he was too focused on something else Romano had said. "Say that again? Where are we?"

"In the trunk of a car going who knows where." Romano gestured to the cavity made by the fallen tail light. "We're going through a forest in the middle of nowhere right now. Any suggestions?"

"Getting out alive sounds good to me," Hooker said, rubbing his eyes.

Romano rolled his eyes and looked out the hole where the light had been again. "No car has been following us for... an hour or two, I guess. I think we've been on some obscure back roads since I woke up. I guess we were out all night. I think it might be around 5 or 6," he said. Then, as an afterthought to accompany his rubbing his right arm briskly with his left hand, he added, "I think it's gotten colder since I woke up."

Hooker inhaled silently and stayed quiet for a minute. "It seems chillier than it should," he remarked in agreement. He shifted, trying to get in a more comfortable position, but only succeeded in hitting his head on the low roof of the trunk. "Ow," he murmured without thinking.

Romano chuckled. "Hooker, meet our small confines for the forseeable future. I see you don't get along too well with them either."

Hooker didn't bother to try and hide the amused smile. "You have much to learn in the ways of telling a good joke," he teased.

The look in Romano's eyes made him regret it almost immediately.

~~~In LA~~~

"No calls. No notes. No hide nor hair of either of them. Where are they?"

Corrigan stood in the quiet parking lot with an arm around Stacy, doing his best to shield her from the chilly air and biting wind brought by the impending darkness. They watched Jessica pace back and forth as they had been doing since they found her starting progress on wearing down a ditch in the middle of the sidewalk in the parking lot. Ginger had long since determined her owner was going nowhere and was now settled down on the pavement next to Jim.

"Calm down," Corrigan tried again, but he wasn't quite sure why he was wasting his breath. Jessica probably wouldn't calm down for another three minutes, at least, and even into tomorrow, his best guess from her current state of distress was that she would still be worried about the sudden disappearance of Hooker and Romano.

"This isn't like them." The two other officers had to wonder if she had even heard Corrigan. "They would have told _someone,_ wouldn't they?"

"Why don't _you_ tell _us_ why you're so restless about this?" Corrigan suggested. Once again, though, he knew they were empty words, repeating like a broken record. He knew she wouldn't answer.

Or, at least, he thought he knew. And then Jessica surprised them both by turning abruptly to face them.

"You know why they were given new partners?" she asked. "It was wrong. It was _all wrong._ None of it should have happened."

"We all know Hooker and Romano were a great team, and believe me, Stacy and I don't think they should have gotten split up so quickly either, but it was for everyone's safety, just-" Corrigan started his lecture.

" _No,_ you-" Jessica began, but got a taste of her own medicine when a voice from behind her cut her off.

"Are you talking about our partners?"

Everyone turned to see Marten, with Henderson standing behind him. Martin's eyes were half closed in a squint, his mouth drawn into a thin, firm, straight line, and his arms were crossed. Henderson seemed to be trying to hide his face without making it obvious what he was doing. He looked nervous as he fidgeted with the bronze-colored zipper on his gray jacket, which was stuck at the bottom of his jacket and refused to zip as it was meant to do.

Corrigan, Stacy, and Jessica were all silent for a moment. They merely stared until Corrigan spoke up.

"Yeah, but what's it matter to you? You two haven't seemed concerned in the slightest that they didn't show up today."

Marten narrowed his eyes even more, and his fingers twisted and writhed as if alive with minds of their own to decide what to do until then finally settled with fingernails digging into Marten's palms and pressed tightly against each other to form a pair of fists in barely suppresed frustration at Corrigan's statement. The officer's jaw flicked open and he stated to say something, but he must have had second thoughts and shut his mouth again.

Jessica turned her head to catch the attention of Stacy and Jim, then twisted her neck a little bit more to look at her white car, shining in the last rays of day. She then met the gazes of her friends once more, to be met with nods of understanding.

Marten seemed to have found his voice again and opened his mouth once more, but never got to say anything.

"We'll be going now," Corrigan said tersely as he and Stacy turned to walk away, with Jessica right on their heels and Ginger behind Jessica, leaving Marten with his mouth hanging open and Henderson to finally lift his head as they walked out of sight behind a tall truck.

"Are you sure about this?" Henderson asked.

"You're having a lot of second guesses about this," Marten growled out.

"I know, but-"

"But nothing! The less they're involved, the better! You know that just as well as I do," Marten snapped.

Henderson sighed. "See you tomorrow," he murmured, walking away with his head down and his shoulders sagging. Marten walked in the opposite direction.

Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from behind the wheel well, and neither noticed the six legs sneaking off towards the white car once the conversation ended.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Still just own Jessica and Ginger, not T.J. Hooker or any of the characters.**

"Give it a rest. I'm sorry, okay?"

Romano took a breath. The first one in several minutes, or so it seemed to Hooker. Since Hooker had made a remark about Romano's skill - or lack thereof - in making up funny jokes, puns, or comments in general, they had been going back and forth arguing over it for the past ten minutes, at least.

"Just like us," Hooker muttered after silence rang through the trunk for a moment, disrupted only by the stready crunching of the tires on the dirt road and faint talking and singing from the radio the driver was listening to. "Arguing over something small. How many times have we done that?"

Romano tilted his head in thought. "There was your car, the plan Corrigan and I had to spend Christmas with you and Stacy, the gold pin, when I stopped you from firing your gun at a delinquent because I thought you were gonna shoot Matt King, Gina's trial..." he trailed off, reliving the petty squabbles.

"My coffee, your food choices, which of our music choices qualified as good music, when you counted the bullets that kid got off and I didn't listen, you seeing Vicki and Lisa at the same time," Hooker continued, and his amused smile returned, but only for a moment. When it faded, he added, "how did that turn out between you, Vicki and Lisa, anyways?"

"I thought you said you weren't old enough to hear that kind of thing," Romano taunted with a wry smile. He folded his hands and rested his chin on them.

Hooker groaned and rolled over so his face was almost touching the wall of the trunk. "Good night."

Romano chuckled softly and rolled onto his back, his elbow bumping into the other side of the trunk. He was silent for a moment, letting the shadows of a smile linger on his face. "We all decided to be just friends," he finally said as the car lurched forward into a bumpier section of road.

Hooker glanced over his shoulder at his friend, glanced down at the bottom of the trunk, and then shifted so he was lying on his side, nearly on his back, propped up on his elbow and leaning against his side of the trunk. "I'm sorry, Junior," he said quietly, like he had said so many times before. Romano definitely didn't have much luck with girls, Hooker thought, that was for sure.

Romano closed his eyes, folding his hands and letting them rest on his stomach. "I suppose we ought to try and get some rest and see if we can't find a way out tomorrow. Won't be much use trying to escape in pitch black." Eyes still closed, he freed one hand to gesture towards the cavity from the tail light, then brought it back to its original position. Less and less light filtered in and the angle and shade made the message clear that daylight was giving way to twilight, soon to be followed by darkness.

Hooker studied his friend's expressionless face for a moment in the fading light, then nodded, turning to lean on his other side, facing the wall again.

* * *

Jessica adjusted her grip on the wheel, blue eyes staring at the red light that laughed in the face of those in a hurry to avoid getting to work late. Finally, the red glow gave way to green and all the cars rushed forward like wild horses let out of a pen. Ginger tilted her head as a car whipped by them and huffed in a disapproving manner, causing Jessica to chuckle as she made the turn and parked. Corrigan and Stacy stood outside waiting for her.

"What's up with you?" Corrigan immediately demanded when she got out of the car. Stacy nodded as a silent echo of the question, having also been wondering about the strange behavior of their friend.

Jessica tilted her head and frowned. "I think I might be on to something, but I'm not sure what," she answered, letting Ginger jump out behind her and shutting the door. She stepped to the sidewalk and headed towards the building.

"What is it?" Stacy asked as she and Corrigan hurried after Jessica.

"I don't know yet," Jessica called over her shoulder, pushing the door open. She darted inside with Corrigan and Stacy close behind, Ginger next to her, only to almost crash into Marten.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

Jessica rolled her eyes before turning to face him and raising her hands in apology. She backed up a few steps as he turned to walk away, still grumbling, then hurried away herself.

Stacy stopped and watched Jessica scurry through the crowded halls, then turned and tilted her head up to face her partner. "What's gotten into her?"

"Not sure," Corrigan answered, crossing his arms and glancing down at his blonde friend. "She's been acting strange, but, uh..."

"But what?" Stacy inquired, tilting her head and squinting at him slightly.

"But... that's not very strange for her?"

Stacy stared at him for a moment before giving him a hard poke to his side.

"Ow!"

Stacy gave a childish giggle. "Come on, partner. Maybe we'll have time to interrogate her after she gets into uniform before we have to hit the streets," she said with a grin, stepping into the flow of people and fighting the current. Corrigan came up behind her and followed her.

"We can try, but knowing her she'll either take her time to avoid us or race off before we get halfway there," he said, leaning down towards her ear so she could hear over the din.

"How do you figure?" Stacy called back. "I think she'd talk."

"Just like her. Like something she'd do. She's acting weird. She herself seems a bit off. Ow!"

Stacy stopped and pulled her hand back, turning towards Corrigan with a smirk. "Let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what episodes were referenced during the last chapter when Hooker and Romano were talking about their arguments. :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica and Ginger.**

He raised his head and quietly moved around to face the rim of light filtering in through the hole in the back of the trunk, blocked by an odd shape that was silhouetted against the bright sunlight. His mind couldn't piece together what it was until it moved away, drew a hand back through the cavity while ignoring when the edges of the metal caught on the forearm and wrist, and sat up as best it could in the confines of their prison to look at him with brown eyes much like his own. It gestured towards the clear, bright light sparkling in. Romano tilted his head and carefully moved towards where a red light had once been, staring out into the glittering frozen water that caked the ground and was dirtied by filth from tires where a road must have been. The young officer sighed and sat back. He forced a smile, but it came as more of a grimace.

"Wonderful."

"Mhm," came the response as Hooker rolled his eyes. "I suppose you'd be used to it, Junior, but frankly, I prefer California to _this_."

Romano nodded slightly. "Pretty cold winters in South Philly sometimes," he answered, ignoring the puff of cloudy air from his breath. He gave a mischevious grin. "And I suppose you're still bitter from your experience in Chicago?"

Hooker stared daggers at his friend, although they were directed more at the memory of the city than Romano. "Yes," he hissed.

Romano was about to say something else when a low growl, nearly mistakable for the grinding of the wheels on the gravel that hid beneath the blanket of snow, sounded.

"The car stopped for about fifteen minutes last night while you were still asleep, and I heard snoring after we started again, so I think there are two people in the car so they can alternate who drives and never really risk us getting the chance to escape. Otherwise," Hooker reached over to give Romano a poke on the shoulder, sharp but with no ill will behind it, "I'd suggest we find a way to get out of here and find some food."

It was Romano's turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever," he said, his tone apathetic and his accent ringing thick.

Hooker tilted his head towards their source of light. "We don't know if these guys are armed," he muttered. "Or who they are, or anything about them. Or else I'd suggest getting out of here right now." He made a fist with his hand and lightly pounded it on the bottom of the trunk, hard enough to show frustration but not hard enough to make their kidnappers hear them and stop to deal with them. He looked back to his young friend. "You're being strangely _calm_ about all of this, ya know. What's wrong?"

"How long are we going to be here?" Romano asked, but it was more to make a point than to really get an answer. "Without food or water or any way of knowing where we are or where we're headed and the only way out will give us away to whatever scum is driving this thing and leave us at the mercy of whatever weapon he has, so even if we did escape unharmed, we'd be lost?" Romano took a breath and stared into space at the tiny window that lit the trunk, running his tongue over his lips to fend off the dehydration that had started to set in.

Hooker sighed internally, then turned to follow Romano's gaze to the road that never ended.

* * *

Jessica stared at the numbers on the keys of the phone as she waited for someone on the other end to pick up the phone. She had nearly given up hope of an answer when a voice came over the speaker.

"Captain Pankowitz."

"Hello Captain, this is Jessica Ethan. I-"

"Who?" Paper ruffling could be heard in the background.

"Sir, files down, maybe, please?" Jessica requested, shifting nervously, unsure of how to continue.

Paper again. "Right, I- ah, Jessica, right, how nice to hear from you again!"

"Uhh, yes-"

"So how are things at the new precinct?" Captain Pankowitz asked, his voice warmer than the disinterested tone he began the call with.

"Not so good, actually. Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Anything, darling."

Jessica rolled her eyes and bit her tongue to keep from audibly groaning. That didn't stop her from mentally lecturing him on never using the hated term ever again, though. "Pull the files from... let's see, around June 23rd, '79, I think. Look for something about someone with the street name Shrike."

"Shrike?"

"Predatory songbird. You'd have to know more about them to get it," Jessica answered, looking at the note in her hand. "Is he still in prison?"

"Uhh, let's see..." Metallic clanging, paper ruffling, more clanging, and a hissing sound. "Here is is. Exactly June 23rd, '79 - Carl Black, street name Shrike. How did you remember the exact date? And yes, he is still in prison," Captain Pankowitz replied.

"It's been a few years - do you know, has he had any cellmates that got out on parole or out for good, especially ones he's spent a lot of time locked up with or ones that got out recently?" Jessica asked, setting the note down on the desk and looking at her wrist. _Ten minutes late, five minutes until Captain Sheridan comes out of his office to make sure everything's in its place... five minutes to finish this_ _and hit the streets or I'm in trouble_ _,_ she thought.

"Uhh, let's see. He was locked up with four people during the past few years," the captain answered, his voice crackly as if the phone was being rubbed against something. The crackling stopped when he continued. "One died in prison, one's still in prison and got a different cellmate, one got off on parole three years ago and blew it two weeks later - back in prison now. Uhh, here, Jeff Newman was given Carl Black as a cellmate six months ago, and got off on parole last month. Does that help?"

"Yes, sir, it does. What does Jeff Newman look like?"

"Medium length, medium shade brown hair, bright blue eyes. 5 feet, 10 inches."

Jessica gave a small gasp and stared into space for a moment, then raised her gaze slightly. Captain Sheridan had moved down the plastic slats of the blinds that covered the windows to stare at her. She glanced down at her watch. _And that would be the five minute mark,_ she thought, groaning inwardly. She stood, sliding her chair back. "Thank you so much for your help, Captain," Jessica said, quickly scribbling down the information on her note and peeking at her watch again. "I have to go now, thanks again."

"You're welcome. Bye, darling."

Jessica growled as she set the phone down at the nickname, then quickly scurried off towards the door, hoping that Captain Sheridan would not notice her still in the building. Wishful thinking.

"Officer Jessica."

She flinched and turned around to look at Captain Sheridan, who tilted his head at her and squinted.

"Uhh, hello sir. Feeling better, I see?" she offered.

"Care to explain why you're not on patrol?"

Jessica swallowed. "Extenuating circumstances?" she squeaked, giving him her best I'm-sorry smile.

"Uh-huh." He raised an eyebrow. "Hit the road in five minutes or less and I'll let it slide."

"Yes sir, thank you sir," Jessica said quickly. "We'll leave right now. Come on, Ginger."

The German Shepherd stretched and yawned before standing up straight from where she was next to the desk Jessica had just been at and breaking into a trot to keep up with Jessica, following her out the door and into the parking lot.


	10. Chapter 10

hengrimm **\- Life got busy and this chapter was ending up so terribly that I just abandoned it for awhile. Coming back to see a review with constructive criticism and showing interest in the finished product just made my day. Thanks for taking the time to review. :) I do indeed intend to finish it. And thank you for pointing that out! Rereading what I already have, I found another instance of that. I fixed the one in chapter 9 and will do my best with the other case.**

 **Also, enjoy the extra long chapter. Couldn't find a way to cut it up into two so it'll just be long.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own T.J. Hooker or any of the characters. I do own Jessica and Ginger.**

It was just a matter of time. He knew it had to be. He just didn't know what was coming when the clock stopped ticking. Getting to escape? Their kidnappers moving them from the trunk to somewhere else? Certain death? One thought lingered in the back of his mind whenever he started to say something. That thought was that everything about their current situation was eating away at both of them, and maybe the clock was counting down to one of them snapping at the other. That thought was enough to keep him quiet for fear of saying something he would regret, which he'd already done much too often over the years. At any rate, the thought did not keep him from almost saying something, and cutting himself off mid-word earned him a curious glance from his older friend each time.

He glanced over at Hooker. The sergeant had taken to the corner, silently shivering in the frosty air. His eyes were closed and his face held no emotion. In fact, if it were not for the occasional movements and opening his eyes every time he heard Romano move to see what the younger officer was doing, Romano would have completely believed that he was asleep.

"I-"

There was a lapse in his focus, but he caught himself with a bite to his lower lip when he remembered why he wasn't already talking. Hooker sighed.

"Alright, what's up?"

"Huh?"

"For the past ten minutes you've been starting to say things, then stopping and never continuing. What's up?"

He contemplated explaining but eventually settled for shrugging.

"Then what were you going to say?"

Again, Romano shrugged. "Just that I wish we'd stop soon. Even if we can't escape, just getting out of this trunk would feel good." He paused. "And for your sake, I hope we get out to somewhere warmer."

Hooker tried to glare, but dissolved into soft laughter. "Can't say I wouldn't agree," he admitted.

"So since you laughed, does that mean I have a good sense of humor and don't need to learn how to tell a good joke?" Romano asked with a grin.

"I... I don't... you..." Hooker faltered before reaching over and giving his young friend a hard shove on his shoulder.

Romano leaned back into the wall of the trunk and laughed before falling silent. Hooker might have said something else, but a sudden jolt erased that idea from his mind. The crunching of the tires on the ground slowed until the car had completely stopped. There was a clicking sound as one of the doors opened, and a low chuckle. The duo in the trunk looked at each other with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

A thin slit of light appeared at the place where the trunk and the rest of the car separated from each other to let the trunk open. It grew almost instantly, and a painfully bright white light shone in. Hooker and Romano were both forced to squint, and they had only a moment to get used to the light, for a dark figure stood above them and reached towards them with something in its hand, and just a few seconds later, both officers were unconscious once again.

The dark figure chuckled and shut the trunk again. It looked over the top of the car to its companion, who stood next to the open passenger door dressed in a similar dark outfit and watching.

"Can't have them alerting anyone to the fact that they're back there once we get into town, can we?" the figure standing by the trunk asked in a hoarse voice. It went to the back door and opened it, pulling out a tail light, having anticipated a tail light being kicked out by a desperate captive. It walked back to the back of the car, placed the tail light in the empty space, and gave it a firm hit to make sure it would stay in if they traveled over a rough road. The figure returned to the driver's side and looked off into the distance. On the horizon in the direction they were travelling, a city was visible. Heading towards such a large city was a risky business for them, but they had decided that their plan was foolproof, so they could risk it. The driver nodded to itself before it and its partner got in as well, and soon they were driving towards the city again.

* * *

Jessica kept up her brisk trot towards the precinct, and Ginger loped by her side. Anyone watching them might have guessed that they were cold, but because they were both used to much colder temperatures, it was more the rush to get to the precinct a bit early so that they didn't become late for patrol again. Well, that was Jessica's goal. Ginger's goal was to keep looking around and keep up with her owner at the same time.

Or at least, that was her goal until she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. Jessica let out a small yelp when she failed to notice and kept going until she caused the leash to slip from her hands. She backtracked and picked up the leash again, looking curiously at Ginger. The German Shepherd was staring in the direction they had come from. Jessica raised her gaze slowly to see a gray car that had stopped in the middle of the road.

The car had several dents in it, the license plates were caked in mud and illegible, the paint was almost completely scratched off of the right side and hood, and the car was rusted through in several spots, mostly along the bumper. It looked like it might break down any second, but that wasn't what caught Jessica's eye. When she looked a little harder, she realized that this was a car she had seen behind her not five minutes ago. With no other cars or people on the road to slow them down and a rather high speed limit, their determination to stay behind her made her a bit wary.

Jessica looked up a bit more and her breath briefly caught in her throat. Two men stared back at her, and both were wearing black sweaters and ski masks. She forced a smile and raised her hand in a wave before turning back. Muttering something to Ginger, she started off again at her brisk walk, this time with Ginger following. She swallowed hard when she glanced over her shoulder and discovered the car slowly creeping after her. Jessica glanced around in search of anything or anyone that could help, but wilted a little when she saw nothing.

It didn't matter. The engine behind her suddenly revved and the car sped a few feet ahead of her before screeching to a halt. The passenger threw open the door and charged towards her. Jessica jumped slightly and made an effort to move aside, to no avail. Her arm was grabbed and, despite her best efforts, she was pulled back to the car, releasing Ginger's leash in the process. The canine glanced around carefully before following with a low growl.

"Get in the car!" hissed the man that held her arm as he blindfolded her, tied her hands behind her back, and then opened the back door and shoved her towards the inside. "You know too much, and we can't have you ruining things for us."

Jessica yelped softly as she tripped into the car, and Ginger started barking furiously.

"Shut your mutt up!" snarled the man, drawing a gun and waving it at the dog even though Jessica could not see.

"Ginger, quiet," Jessica called reluctantly. One final bark and Ginger quieted down, but glared daggers at the man holding the gun as he slammed the door and got back into the car.

The man quietly uttered something to the driver, who nodded before slamming his heel into the gas pedal and speeding off, leading dark black marks on the pavemenet.

Ginger turned around again to stare at something none of the humans had noticed. A dark colored car slowly rolled forward and the passenger door opened. Without hesitation, Ginger jumped in. The door closed again and the tires squealed as the driver of the darker car hit the gas. They lurched into top speed and chased after the gray car.

...

Ear-piercing screeches could be heard coming from near the alley. Mere seconds later, two masked men shoved a blindfolded Jessica into the alley, forcing her to trip her way down the wide, trash-filled area between two abandoned buildings until she crashed into a wall. Once she hit the cold brick she was grabbed by the shoulder and whirled around so that her back touched the rough surface.

"You know too much," said a raspy voice that sounded like it was trying to be disguised. It had a hint of familiarity, though, Jessica thought. She assumed it was the voice of the driver. "We can't have you around any more. Any final words?" He paused as if he intended to actually give her the chance to answer, but silence was the only thing that filled the gap. He chuckled. "Alrighty then."

Jessica heard the unmistakable click of a gun about to be fired, and for a brief moment her mind resigned itself to what was about to happen.

Or, what she _thought_ was about to happen. Instead, a moment later she heard angry barking and a scuffle before something dropped to the ground. The gun, she decided, when she considered how metallic it sounded when it landed. Jessica shifted her weight nervously, trying to determine what was going on before she felt a hand on the back of her head grabbing the blindfold and sliding it off. She blinked a few times to bring her surroundings into focus and found herself face-to-face with Stacy.

"Impeccable timing," she breathed as Stacy nudged her shoulder to make her turn around to undo the ropes that were tangled around her wrists. "How did you...?"

"Find you? Yeah, Jim and I were taking a different route today and pulled up right behind you all just as you were being dragged back to that gray car. Picked up Ginger and then took off after you," Stacy answered as she got the ropes untied and let them fall to the ground. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you two," Jessica answered as she twisted her wrists, trying to regain the feeling in her hands. She looked over Stacy's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at what she saw.

Jim and Ginger stood at the opposite end of the alley, blocking the only way out. The ski masks on the two kidnappers had been abandoned on the ground. Marten stood with his arms tightly crossed and a death glare aimed towards Jessica. Henderson looked jumpy and turned his head this way and that, refusing to look at anyone.

"Hey, why don't you two go back to the precinct and get someone that can help, and I'll stay here to make sure nobody tries anything?" Jim called.

Stacy nodded and scurried past Marten and Henderson, out of the alleyway, and to her dark car, with Jessica close on her heels.


End file.
